Alloy wheels
A set of shiny alloy wheels from a discount website can turn even the humblest of low-insurance hatchbacks into a mean machine. Well, maybe not, but don't let's spoil the fun for the kiddies.
At the other end of the car-buying spectrum, alloy wheel design acts as a subtle class-differentiator, different designs separating the luxury-spec SE and the boys' toy Sport from the I-just-about-managed-to-stretch-my-company-car-allowance-to-a-BMW 316i. It's a tradition which dates back to mail-order Minilites and Wolfraces, and, unless there's a sudden vogue for back-to-basics no-frills steel wheels, the (after)market for alloys will just keep on growing. Even your local Vauxhall dealer can sell you a nice set of credible Irmscher alloys for your Corsa now, too, so just say no to the cheap tat...
A set of shiny alloy wheels from a discount website can turn even the humblest of low-insurance hatchbacks into a mean machine. Well, maybe not, but don't let's spoil the fun for the kiddies.
At the other end of the car-buying spectrum, alloy wheel design acts as a subtle class-differentiator, different designs separating the luxury-spec SE and the boys' toy Sport from the I-just-about-managed-to-stretch-my-company-car-allowance-to-a-BMW 316i. It's a tradition which dates back to mail-order Minilites and Wolfraces, and, unless there's a sudden vogue for back-to-basics no-frills steel wheels, the (after)market for alloys will just keep on growing. Even your local Vauxhall dealer can sell you a nice set of credible Irmscher alloys for your Corsa now, too, so just say no to the cheap tat...
Carbonfibre
A composite manufactured material, containing strands of pure carbon. It's light, strong and very expensive, which is why it's reserved mostly for racing cars, supercars and low-volume sports cars. Increasingly finding its way into the cabins of mainstream cars with sporting pretensions as a trim material.
A composite manufactured material, containing strands of pure carbon. It's light, strong and very expensive, which is why it's reserved mostly for racing cars, supercars and low-volume sports cars. Increasingly finding its way into the cabins of mainstream cars with sporting pretensions as a trim material.
Chrome
Or specifically, the electroplating technique that enables the glitzy decoration of front grilles, headlight surrounds, bumpers, wheel hubs and any other automotive surface in need of a bit of brightening up. Would the drab post-war 50s been quite the same without chrome and tailfins? Did the MGB ever look quite so good after it received its so-called 'federal' rubber bumpers?
Who would have thought that immersing a piece of metal in an electrically-charged bath of metal salts would result in such an important style revolution?
Or specifically, the electroplating technique that enables the glitzy decoration of front grilles, headlight surrounds, bumpers, wheel hubs and any other automotive surface in need of a bit of brightening up. Would the drab post-war 50s been quite the same without chrome and tailfins? Did the MGB ever look quite so good after it received its so-called 'federal' rubber bumpers?
Who would have thought that immersing a piece of metal in an electrically-charged bath of metal salts would result in such an important style revolution?
Convertibles with retractable hardtops
Can't decide whether to buy a stylish coupe, or go for the full wind-in-the-hair open-top experience? Love the idea of a convertible but not having to live with a leaky hood and excess noise all winter? These days, there's no such dilemma.
The new breed of coupe-convertible, popularised by the Mercedes-Benz SLK, Peugeot 206CC and now available from many mainstream manufacturers, means that you no longer have to put up with all the old convertible compromises. Even scuttle shake is virtually eliminated. Clever folding mechanisms, retractable panels and sliding sections, all working at the touch of a button, please the techies and comfort-seekers alike. It's a no-brainer.
But did you know that the first coupe-convertible with power-retracting roof was the 1934 Peugeot 401 Eclipse?
Can't decide whether to buy a stylish coupe, or go for the full wind-in-the-hair open-top experience? Love the idea of a convertible but not having to live with a leaky hood and excess noise all winter? These days, there's no such dilemma.
The new breed of coupe-convertible, popularised by the Mercedes-Benz SLK, Peugeot 206CC and now available from many mainstream manufacturers, means that you no longer have to put up with all the old convertible compromises. Even scuttle shake is virtually eliminated. Clever folding mechanisms, retractable panels and sliding sections, all working at the touch of a button, please the techies and comfort-seekers alike. It's a no-brainer.
But did you know that the first coupe-convertible with power-retracting roof was the 1934 Peugeot 401 Eclipse?
Fibreglass
For when carbonfibre was too expensive. A resin and glass composite that's relatively light and cheap to produce, although easy to break, hence its extensive use for body panels for kit cars.
Now generally superceded by composite plastics, but an integral material for low-volume manufacturers for many years. Britain's small-scale sports car makers would have been lost without it.
The first production cars to use fibreglass panels included the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette; first all-in-one fibreglass monocoque body was that of the Lotus Elite (1959). Famous fibreglass-bodied cars have also included the Reliant Scimitar.
For when carbonfibre was too expensive. A resin and glass composite that's relatively light and cheap to produce, although easy to break, hence its extensive use for body panels for kit cars.
Now generally superceded by composite plastics, but an integral material for low-volume manufacturers for many years. Britain's small-scale sports car makers would have been lost without it.
The first production cars to use fibreglass panels included the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette; first all-in-one fibreglass monocoque body was that of the Lotus Elite (1959). Famous fibreglass-bodied cars have also included the Reliant Scimitar.